VE Celebrations

The Guildhall and St Peter’s Hill Green have been the scene of many of Grantham’s major events including the town’s VE celebrations on 8 May 1945. This momentous occasion was captured on film by amateur filmaker Walter Lee recording.

Grantham high street was decked out in bunting and union flags as the large crowds milled about. There was a thangsgiving service on St. Peter’s Hill Green following which the mayor, dignitaries and members of the clergy stood on the steps of the Guildhall . The choir was provided by King’s School boys and Kesteven and Grantham Girls’ School girls, acompanied by the Salvation Army band.

Filmaker Walter Lee who was born in 1891 in Grantham . He had a photographic business in the town and during the Second World War he was the ‘official’ photographer for a number of organisations including a local munitions factory. He also took pictures in his studio that were used in passbooks and security and identity cards.

During the war he kept a meticulous diary that recorded the impact of the conflict on his home town. Local historian and author Malcolm Knapp has since married this with photographs that Walter took during the period to produce the book Grantham: The War Years 1939-1945: A Pictorial History, published by Lincolnshire Books.